The new American empire is small in comparison to the great European empires of the era. Three recent acquisitions--Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico--present relatively few problems for the country, but Cuba and the Philippines prove more difficult. ...
The Panic of 1907 illustrates how little control the federal government has over the industrial economy. When the stock market goes into free fall, J. P. Morgan attempts to halt the panic by guaranteeing he "will cover all obligations." Conservative...
In the presidential election of 1912 Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive), Woodrow Wilson (Democrat), and Eugene Debs (Socialist) compete for the same constituencies: farmers, laborers, and immigrants. Roosevelt endorses minimum-wage legislation and cor...
After eight energetic years in the White House, Theodore Roosevelt retires from public life, at least that is his stated intention. His hand-picked successor, William Howard Taft, easily wins the presidential election of 1908, but he is not a progre...
As president, Taft's main foreign policy interest is extending American investments into less-developed regions, a strategy known as "dollar diplomacy." Custom receiverships are set up in the Caribbean to create a stable environment for canal. But i...